Since becoming a member of Kaiser Permanente in 2011, Hugh Ramé Hemstreet has been within the driver’s seat of the group’s decade-long effort to mitigate its contribution to the local weather disaster. With engineering levels from Tulane College and College of California, Berkeley, he’s led a number of interrelated initiatives, together with an aggressive vitality effectivity program spanning eight areas and greater than 1,000 amenities, all of which culminated within the announcement in fall 2020 that Kaiser Permanente is the primary large-scale healthcare system within the U.S. to attain carbon neutrality. He additionally chairs Kaiser’s Sustainable Useful resource Council, which is accountable for consulting with stakeholders within the improvement of the group’s Sustainable Sources Technique, an effort that ensures operational modifications are reviewed and evaluated and that technological, monetary, and pricing alternatives are recognized.
He spearheaded the set up of on-site photo voltaic canopies at Kaiser places the place it’s value efficient, leading to greater than 50MW of inexperienced energy technology. Most just lately, he negotiated 4 20-year renewable vitality off-take agreements totaling 335MW of latest “utility scale” wind and photo voltaic technology in addition to 110 MW of battery storage to mitigate intermittency of these renewable energy sources. The mixed influence of those on-site and off-site initiatives permits Kaiser Permanente to generate extra renewable vitality than the facility it consumes from “brown energy.”
Trying past Kaiser Permanente, Hemstreet can be targeted on figuring out and selling alternatives that might end in lowering the vitality wants and carbon emissions of all U.S. healthcare amenities, together with partnering with the California Fee on demonstration initiatives for outcome-based air flow and inexperienced microgrids to scale back vitality depth and enhance resiliency. Whereas his work continues to affect the best way Kaiser Permanente designs and constructs its amenities in addition to demonstrates that carbon neutrality is achievable in a large-scale system, Hemstreet believes the previous 12 months illustrated the significance of addressing local weather change for everybody.
“The well being disparities exacerbated by COVID-19 additional underscore that defending the well being of our planet and its folks can not be handled as separate efforts,” he says. “Making a more healthy, extra sustainable path ahead requires us to handle these inseparable points as one.”
What do you like most about your job? The dimensions of Kaiser Permanente. As an example, with the ability to negotiate “utility scale” renewable vitality agreements. This demonstrates to the whole business what’s doable.
What business problem do you hope to unravel?
Lower in half the potable water use at California hospitals. On-site water reclamation holds the potential to substitute recycled water for a lot of the potable water that our hospitals at present devour.
Who/what conjures up you?
My kids. My technology has did not cope with the local weather disaster; I need to exhibit to them that options do exist that can permit their technology to keep away from the worst case situation.
What’s the subsequent main development you anticipate for healthcare design?
Care at house, which is able to scale back the acute care footprint per affected person.
What did you study over the previous 12 months?
We are able to quickly change and adapt, however sadly it requires a disaster.